Talk:The National Service Journal
Sounds solid, but all of the empty links need to be filled in! You just want me to start producing the blank page with the name so you can start linking them?Oh,how the sea calls 05:52, August 2, 2010 (UTC) :Indeed. ^_^ Cou-ra-geuh ! 08:58, August 15, 2010 (UTC) Note to add ----I believe you've noticed that my recent works seem to revolve around one theme : Duchemin and her endeavours. Ever since my return from National Service in September 2009, I wanted to talk about conscription and its after effects. I wanted to throw in a little fantasy too. So from this idea, Le Carnet du Service National (The National Service Journal) was born. I've been writing pretty regularly, I've been trying to finish the text for Le Carnet without having to spoil many things, but it seems that spoilers are just inevitable. Thus far two (or three ?) people are working with me to make this story a success, and the progress has been pretty slow, but I'm not giving up hope. The whole point of me making works of art is to move others. I'm no literary genius. I scored a B in my A-Level Literature but I have no regrets. If there's something worth producing, I just go ahead and share my ideas. So, let me give you a brief introduction to Le Carnet. The story revolves around Aimée Duchemin (initially known as Aimée Le Sueur), who has been picked for conscription in Sauveterre. Apparently all 18-year-olds go through a random selection process, and the "lucky ones" get to go. Aimée's training camp is in Point-Neuf, somewhere in the southeastern regions of Sauveterre. She expects to buckle under the pressure of army life, but she gets shocked by something else : the attitude of the trainees, the many weaknesses that belie Camp Point-Neuf and the futility of some of the training programmes. Aimée makes several friends, and learns how to attack and summon and stuff. She is very vocal against some programmes and some implementations, which she deems futile (among them, the Nationalism classes - what are they trying to impose ? Ideology ?). However, she soon realises that she doesn't win everyone's favour. One trainee who is particularly against her is Dolores Lestrange. Now Dolores, in a bid to become stronger than Aimée, explores the passageways beneath the female quarters one day, and releases Ankoù, a terrible spirit-like force. Ten years prior to Le Carnet, Ankoù was responsible for the deaths of thousands in Sauveterre. Aimée is unaware about this and still makes efforts to make her house, or "company", win, until one day, when three trainees are found dead in the quarters... Whilst Aimée progresses, and whilst the trainers watch her progress, they reveal to her the story behind Ankoù. Ankoù was defeated by Ani Suring, a resident of Point-Neuf. Now the people staying in Camp Point-Neuf are looking for someone who can emulate Ani Suring, and Aimée wonders if she ever can. Meanwhile, she suffers, with the trainees' lackadaisical attitude, the horrible food, the flimsy furniture, the power and water cuts, the Nationalism classes, the lack of originality and reasoning in some programmes, and ultimately, the horrendous atmosphere of Camp Point-Neuf. As Ankoù wreaks havoc on Camp Point-Neuf, the weaknesses and disunity of the trainees come into play. Aimée notes "seven racial clashes, four cases of bullying, three cases of theft, and some of them were so bad that they had to call the cops." Each man is for his own, and she laments this, and her admiration for National Service disappears. Ankoù possesses the companies' summons, and they have to be killed in order to free them. Aimée later defeats the ultimate summon, Bravoure, and as Bravoure dies in her arms, she tells Aimée that her real name is Aimée Duchemin, and that she bears the blood of Ani Suring - the cursed blood. Aimée also learns that the main reason why Ankoù is wreaking havoc in the training camp is because he can sense the presence of Ani Suring's blood, but can't get to her at all. Aimée, now exasperated, confronts the trainers who told her about Ani Suring. She fights with one of them, and is almost punished by the Disciplinary Committee - her friend Sybil Françaix comes to the rescue, with a video recording of Bravoure dying in Aimée's arms. The trainers finally come to realise that Aimée is a bearer of the cursed blood, and they place all their hopes on her. Aimée's anger heightens when Ankoù kills one of Aimée's best friends, Tatienne Delacroix. Days before the final clash with Ankoù, Sybil, with the help of the trainers and her best friends, calls upon the trainees to unite. She organises a mini-concert in the main hall, where Aimée sings, and flashbacks of what the trainees had done are shown. The trainees are deeply moved, and soon realise how foolish they were. The trainers finally round up a few trustworthy people to assist Aimée in the final battle against Ankoù. After a heated argument, they fight. Aimée learns that using her battle axes would be futile, so she ultimately defeats Ankoù with his own weapon, putting an end to the circle of death. Towards the end of her stint, Aimée is given the Best Trainee award, and her company earns the title of Best Company. Yet, she still doesn't understand what all this admiration is for. She has been through National Service with no regrets, yet, she would speak against it, and she hopes to put an end to it. ---- Taken from here Cou-ra-geuh ! 08:58, August 15, 2010 (UTC)